eading skill in the elementary grades positively predicts academic and societal
outcomes (Cunningham & Stanovich, 1997; Kern & Friedman, 2008).
Proﬁcient readers are less likely to drop out of school and more likely to
achieve higher levels of schooling; they earn more money on average, have higher
rates of homeownership, and have lower rates of incarceration (McLaughlin, Speirs
& Shenassa, 2014; Snowling, Adams, Bowyer-Crane, & Tobin, 2000). Nevertheless,
according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, 32% of fourth-grade
students in the United States are reading below a basic level (National Center for
Education Statistics, 2013), suggesting that our educational system is not currently
producing enough individuals who read at appropriate levels.
In some ways it is not surprising that so many children struggle to read: Reading
comprehension is a complex task that can break down at several levels, including
decoding (word-level processing), listening
comprehension (a subset of oral language skills),
THE ROBERT J. SCHWARTZ
and domain-general processes not speciﬁc to
MEMORIAL LECTURE
reading, such as executive functioning. Executive
functioning is a complex construct, but it is
generally thought of as a “collection of top-down
control processes used when going on automatic
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
or relying on instinct or intuition would be
7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
ill-advised, insufﬁcient, or impossible”
Westchester Middle School
(Diamond, 2013, p. 136), thus suggesting
that it may play a role in directing cognitive
RSVP online at thewindwardschool.org/lecture
See page 9 for complete details.
resources during reading, as well as in integrating
various types of information.
A common developmental model of reading, the Simple View of Reading
(Gough & Tunmer, 1986), and its expanded models (Scarborough, 2001), capture
the complexity of reading by dividing reading into two main categories: word
recognition and language comprehension. Key skills under word recognition include
phonological processing, decoding (applying knowledge of letter-sound relationships
to pronounce written words), and sight word recognition, while language comprehension includes components such as vocabulary and knowledge of syntax (see Figure
1). Impairment in phonological awareness is a core deﬁcit in children with dyslexia
(Morris, 2013)—this could include, for example, difﬁculty detecting rhyme and
alliteration, as well as segmenting words into syllables and sounds. Understanding
this deﬁcit has led to the establishment of direct, explicit, code-based instruction as a
best practice (Morris, 2013). Although dyslexia includes people with poor word-level

Laurie E. Cutting, PhD

2

The Beacon Spring 2018

skills, studies within the last 15
deﬁcit not speciﬁc to reading
years have shown that adequate
alone (Stothard & Hulme, 1992).
decoding, while required, is not
Although the Simple View of
sufﬁcient for comprehension.
reading focuses on word- and
Of note, studies have shown that
language-level skills, our lab in
some children can have a selective
particular has also highlighted the
deﬁcit in reading comprehension
contribution of executive functions
with intact word recognition
to reading ability. This is illustrated
abilities (Cain & Oakhill, 2006;
in Figure 1, which shows executive
Locascio, Mahone, Eason, &
function as the third major
Cutting, 2010)—for example, a
component that we hypothesize
child may be able to easily sound
may play a role in facilitating
out words (word recognition) but
the coordination of reading skills.
still struggle with understanding
Executive functions are domainFigure 1. Adapted from Scarborough (2001) in Cutting,
the meaning of a text (this is
general skills, which are skills
Bailey, Barquero, & Aboud (2015).
reading comprehension). This
used in multiple domains,
impairment is referred to as speciﬁc
not just reading. They include
reading comprehension deﬁcit, or
cognitive control abilities such
Executive functions may play a role in
S-RCD (Cain & Oakhill, 2006).
as working memory, inhibition
In the current article, we brieﬂy
(resisting an impulse), and task
facilitating the coordination of reading
review the behavioral research on
switching (changing from one
skills. Executive functions are domainreading comprehension, including
objective or set of rules to another).
the component skills of reading
Working memory is the ability
general skills, which are skills used in
comprehension. However, the
to hold and manipulate verbal (or
multiple domains, not just reading.
bulk of the article focuses on the
spatial/written) information in
neurobiology of reading compreone’s mind while simultaneously
Several studies suggest that reading
hension, especially what is known
dealing with new incoming
comprehension difﬁculties might be
beyond that of word-level processinformation, and has relevance for
ing. In particular, we examine the
reading in that one has to hold
connected to executive dysfunction.
neural correlates of discourse-level
previously read information in
processing as well as what is known
memory, while simultaneously
about the neurobiological proﬁle of S-RCD. We end with a
integrating new information into this existing information.
discussion of the practical implications of this research.
Inhibition and task-switching are relevant to reading comprehension in that the ability to inhibit thoughts and switch between
Behavioral Correlates of Reading Comprehension
them is needed (e.g., when reading about a cat, one needs to
As indicated by the Simple View, reading comprehension is
access information about cats; however, one needs to also inhibit
inﬂuenced by oral language comprehension, a domain-speciﬁc
this access at a certain point and task switch so that not so much
skill that includes grammar, pragmatics (which examines social
information is accessed that the reader loses track of the focus of
language use, or how context in language communication
the text). Behaviorally, researchers measure executive functions
contributes to its meaning), and semantics (Hulme & Snowling,
usually with several tests that require the pertinent cognitive skill.
2009). Empirical evidence has upheld the Simple View’s
For example, the Tower of London test (related to, but different
characterization of oral language comprehension as an important
from the Tower of Hanoi test) is a popular measure of planning
component of successful reading—for example, Catts and
ability. The test consists of colorful blocks that ﬁt on pegs, and
colleagues (1999) found that poor comprehenders (either with
the person taking the test must move the blocks on the pegs
or without word-level deﬁcits) were three to ﬁve times more
according to a set of rules. The researchers record timing and
likely to have a history of oral language deﬁcits. More speciﬁcally, error rate, and then compare them to a standardized scale.
poor comprehenders are worse than typically developing peers
Several studies from our lab and others highlight the
on standardized tests of vocabulary, grammatical understanding,
importance of executive function skills to reading comprehension
and grammatical sensitivity (Catts, Fey, Zhang, & Tomblin, 1999; (Cain, Oakhill & Bryant, 2004; Cutting, Eason, Young, &
Catts, Adlof & Weismer, 2006; Nation & Snowling, 1998; Nation Alberstadt, 2009; Locascio et al., 2010; Oakhill, Cain, & Bryant,
& Snowling, 2000). Finally, children with S-RCD show poor
2003; Pimperton, & Nation, 2012; Sesma, Mahone, Levine,
listening comprehension in addition to reading comprehension,
Eason, & Cutting, 2009; Welsh, Nix, Blair, Bierman, & Nelson,
indicating that these children may have a general comprehension

Spring 2018 The Beacon

2010). In the study conducted by Locascio and colleagues (2010),
for example, the researchers tested 86 children (ages 10 to 14)
on measures of executive function and reading comprehension.
The group included children with word-recognition deﬁcits,
S-RCD, and average readers. The S-RCD group performed uniquely
poorly on a measure of strategic planning and organization. This
critical ﬁnding (along with others; see citations above) suggests
that reading comprehension difﬁculties might be connected to
executive dysfunction.

that is activated includes the regions implicated in word-level
processing (Aboud, Bailey, Sefcik, & Cutting, 2016; Landi, Frost,
Menc, Sandak, & Pugh, 2013; Rimrodt et al., 2009; Xu, Kemeny,
Park, Frattali, & Braun, 2005). However, comprehension also
elicits a broader network, especially in areas that support
linguistic and domain-general processing, a ﬁnding that is largely
consistent with the behavioral literature (Rimrodt et al., 2009).
More speciﬁcally, researchers have identiﬁed cortical activation
patterns during reading tasks that support the idea that reading
comprehension involves language-level and domain-general
Neurobiological Correlates of Reading
processes in addition to word-level skills. This is illustrated in
Word-level Processing and Dyslexia
Figure 2. As can be seen, regions of higher activation include: the
To date, neurobiological research into impaired reading
prefrontal cortex and bilateral temporal-parietal junction, often
has focused primarily on dyslexia. This research has delineated
attributed to social cognition required in story comprehension; the
consistent proﬁles of dyslexia from typical readers. Anatomically,
bilateral temporal poles, believed to be important for generating
people with dyslexia exhibit less structural asymmetry between
speciﬁc semantic associations in connected text; and posterior
the right and left hemisphere, speciﬁcally in language-related
medial structures, which have been associated with updates in
areas (Richlan, Kronbichler, &
the reader’s mental model (Price,
Reading comprehension incorporates
Wimmer, 2013). These ﬁndings
2012; Swett et al., 2013).
are echoed in functional imaging
multiple cortical regions that are associated
Broadly, these ﬁndings mean
work of reading-related tasks that
that reading comprehension
with reading-speciﬁc functional regions
show a marked underactivation
incorporates multiple cortical
of left occipitotemporal and
as well as domain-general regions such as
regions that are associated with
tempoparietal regions, as well as
reading-speciﬁc functional
those for executive functions. Some of
overactivation in right hemisphere
regions as well as domain-general
homologues in readers with
these regions seem to be multifunctional
regions such as those for executive
g
dyslexia as compared to typically
functions. Further, it is important
developing readers (Price &
to note that some of these regions
TEMPOROPARIETAL
McCrory, 2005). Additionally,
Semantic Memory/Predictions
seem to be multifunctional.
and Coherence Building
INFERIOR FRONTAL
training studies have shown
For example, a temporalparietal
Executive semantic control
(selection/retrieval)
that behavioral improvement
region that participates in
in reading correlates with speciﬁc
orthographic-phonological
neurobiological changes in
mapping during word-level
POSTERIOR MIDDLE TEMPORAL
the reading network, implying
Sentence processing and
processing also participates in
ANTERIOR TEMPORAL
executive semantic control
Sentence processing and increasingly
reorganization is possible with
semantic memory and prediction
specific semantic associations
intervention (Barquero et al.,
and coherence-building during
2014; Richards & Berninger,
comprehension (Swett et al.,
Figure 2. Regions of the brain found to specialize in
2008; Simos et al., 2002; Temple
under review).
semantic understanding. Image adapted from Price (2012).
et al., 2003).
Emerging Neurobiological Findings for S-RCD
Reading Comprehension
As noted above, accurate word-level reading does not guarantee
Although many neurobiological studies have examined
successful comprehension: Readers with S-RCD exhibit intact
processing of sentences in isolation, and to a lesser extent
word-level processing skills but atypical language-level skills.
discourse, few studies have examined neurobiological correlates of
Although the neurobiological literature is scarce on S-RCD,
comprehension over the course of child development. Generally,
some ﬁndings are emerging. An early study by Landi and Perfetti
and not surprisingly, neurobiological ﬁndings have revealed that
(2007) investigated the differences between adults with different
during reading comprehension (assessed with tasks involving
levels of reading comprehension ability who were matched on
processing of either isolated sentences or discourse), the network
nonword decoding ability (i.e., showed an S-RCD proﬁle) using
Abbreviations
DYS: Dyslexia
EEG: Electroencephalogram

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging
fMRI: functional MRI

S-RCD: Speciﬁc reading comprehension deﬁcit
TD: Typically developing

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electroencephalogram (EEG). This technique uses a set of
electrodes (worn as a cap on the head) that measure the voltage
differences across the scalp that can be used to detect processing
differences. In their study, Landi and Perfetti measured the EEG
signal of adult readers while they performed brief tasks that
involved semantic and phonological processing (the ﬁrst required
the participant to determine whether two words or pictures were
related in meaning and the second whether two words had the
same pronunciation). By measuring the average signal over many
repetitions of these tasks, the researchers could detect different
electrophysiological responses between these two groups to these
different kinds of tasks. Speciﬁcally, there were differences in the
average response between the skilled versus unskilled comprehenders
in the semantic tasks but not in the phonological tasks. This
result implies that brain activity that correlates with phonological
processing is similar between skilled and poor comprehenders
who show adequate decoding abilities; in contrast, semantic
processing elicits disparate activity between the two groups. This
study provided initial neurobiological evidence that supports
behavioral ﬁndings that differentiate S-RCD readers from typical
readers in semantic processing. Our lab has built on the initial
work of Landi and Perfetti, as well as other behavioral research,
by using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to further explore
S-RCD and its neural underpinnings. MRI enables us to identify
speciﬁc regions in the brain that are involved in processing
different types of stimuli. In an initial study (Cutting et al., 2013),
we investigated the word-level abilities of adolescents with S-RCD,
dyslexia (DYS), and no reading deﬁcit (typically developing, or
TD). During functional MRI scans, the participants viewed
pseudo words, high-frequency (i.e., very commonly used) real
words, and low-frequency real words. By comparing the groups

(S-RCD, DYS, and TD) across conditions (pseudowords,
high-frequency words, and low-frequency words), we explored
whether the S-RCD groups showed intact orthographicphonological processing in regions such as the left occipitotemporal
cortex and the supramarginal gyrus, regardless of word type.
The occipitotemporal regions are associated with word-level
orthographic-phonological processing and the supramarginal
gyrus is associated with phonological aspects of word- processing.
Of additional interest was whether low-frequency words, which
place greater demands on lexical access, would show anomalies
in the S-RCD group in different regions of the brain that are
speciﬁcally related to semantic processing (but again not in
regions associated with orthographic-phonological processing).
As hypothesized, the TD and S-RCD groups showed similar
activation patterns compared to the DYS group in regions
associated with word-level processing: the occipitotemporal
regions and supramarginal gyrus. These ﬁndings indicate that
the S-RCD group had intact orthographic and phonological
word-processing skills. Additional ﬁndings revealed, however,
that the S-RCD group showed anomalies potentially related more
focally to semantic processing. Speciﬁcally, the S-RCD group
showed anomalies in connectivity between left inferior frontal
gyrus and other regions when reading low- versus high-frequency
words. These regions are known to be important for semantic
processing and other behavioral studies have demonstrated the
increased lexical access demands of low- versus high-frequency
words. These ﬁndings suggest possible neural correlates of speciﬁc
weaknesses in S-RCD in accessing lexical-semantic representations
during word recognition.Thus, consistent with the Landi and
Perfetti study, this study provides evidence of intact orthographicphonological processing skills, but weaknesses in semantic processing

Key Terminology
Speciﬁc reading comprehension disorder (S-RCD) refers to individuals with intact word-level abilities
(i.e., decoding and word recognition abilities), but a deﬁcit regarding reading comprehension. S-RCD can be contrasted
with dyslexia, which refers to individuals with word-level deﬁcits.
Domain general: Domains, in this article, refer to different cognitive abilities, such as reading, numerical reasoning,
or their subskills. A domain-general skill is one that applies to multiple domains (e.g., executive functions), while a
domain-speciﬁc skill applies to just one (e.g., decoding is speciﬁc to reading).
Executive functions: A group of domain-general skills involved in top-down control, such as working memory,
inhibition, and task/rule switching.
Decoding: The ability to apply knowledge of letter-sound relationships to pronounce written words.
Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a tool used in developmental cognitive neuroscience. Participants wear a net of
sensors on their scalps, and the sensors record electrical current. These currents provide information about the underlying
neural activity in real time, although they are not spatially very precise.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a tool that allows for capturing brain images. There are various types
of MRI scans; functional MRI, or fMRI, refers to MRI scans during which the participant performs a speciﬁc task.
By scanning the participant’s brain during the task, researchers can gather information about how the brain performs
certain tasks compared to others.
Typically developing, or TD, is a convention in the ﬁeld of neuroscience to indicate a lack of identiﬁed deﬁcits.

Spring 2018 The Beacon

in S-RCD readers. However, because MRI provides greater spatial sentences or a narrative (especially the frontal operculum).
resolution than EEG, this study also provides insight into the
Furthermore, there were speciﬁc patterns of activation for
possible regional, cortical deﬁcits speciﬁc to different types of readers. narratives (in the extrasylvian cortex), which the authors associate
One difﬁculty in MRI research into reading comprehension
with the extralinguistic cognitive processes unique to the narrative
is creating a task that subjects can perform in the MRI machine.
level of complexity. Other ﬁndings also highlight different brain
When a subject performs a speciﬁc task, such as reading a real
activity associated with the complexity of processing discourse
word or a fake, pseudo word that resembles real words, this is
(compared with letters, words, or sentences). For example, the
called functional MRI or fMRI. Researchers can record response
more complex the text, the greater the right hemisphere activity.
in the participant’s brain immediately after performing the task
Finally, they found unique activation patterns for different portions
in order to get a sense of brain activity speciﬁc to that task.
of a narrative, which they associate with synthesizing information
Because of the various technical constraints of fMRI, fMRI tasks
across different portions of the narrative and maintaining an
must be rather short and concrete. Reading comprehension, on
understanding of the narrative as a whole: Left and right hemispheres
the other hand, is an ongoing process over many lines of text. To
were active at the beginning of a narrative, but right hemisphere
resolve this temporal conﬂict—the long period required to read
activity was greater at the end of the story.
a passage and the short period required to capture a functional
This rather complex set of ﬁndings has signiﬁcance for our
MRI volume—our lab has developed paradigms in which we break understanding of the differences between processing different
down passages into meaningful phrases (Swett et al., 2013). While aspects of written language: letters, words, sentences, through
in the MRI scanner, individuals read one meaningful phrase at a
to passages. In summary, the authors demonstrated that readers
time—e.g., “Hydroponics/ is a
draw on some speciﬁc regions of
funny word/ for plants/ growing
the brain when processing
The behavioral ﬁndings found in previous different aspects of language,
without soil.” By scanning the
reader during each phrase, we have
work broadly align with group differences and that a critical differentiation
been able to collect a progressive
is between regions of the brain
found when we study the functional and
measure of brain activity during
more heavily involved in word
passage reading. Individuals also
structural neurobiology of different reader recognition processes and regions
read phrases of random words and
that support the processing of
groups. Our research shows that S-RCD
perform a baseline task of viewing
sentences and passages for meaning.
symbols—these tasks allow us to
In terms of how ﬁndings
has a unique neurobiological proﬁle as
collect data regarding single-word
on the functional correlates to
compared to typically developing readers
reading and visual processing.
discourse processing relate to
Therefore, by measuring the
executive function, the story
and readers with dyslexia.
processing involved for both words
becomes more complex. The
and discourse, the experiment
study from our lab by Swett and
provided a comparison of word-level activation to passage-level
colleagues (2013) aimed to explore the neural correlates speciﬁc
activation.
to expository text comprehension, and observe how these regions
Initial ﬁndings in adults (Swett et al., 2013) revealed that
activate over time, as a reader builds and maintains a coherent
word-level processing involved greater activation in regions of the mental representation of text. Expository comprehension involves
cortex typically associated with word-level processing (occipital
organizational skills such as maintaining concepts in working
and occipitotemporal) while passages involved greater activation
memory and updating concepts or structures (this is true as well
in other regions that are typically associated with higher-level
for narrative text comprehension). Therefore, we hypothesized
integrative processes (these were dorsal medial prefrontal, bilateral that we would observe activations in what we call the dorsal
angular gyrus, and posterior cingulate regions). These ﬁndings
attention network, a group of regions associated with executive
are consistent with the results from previous research conducted
functions. However, although we observed activation in the
by Xu and colleagues (2005), as well as others, showing that
dorsal attention network in children (Aboud, Bailey, Petrill, &
sentences elicit more activation than words in isolation. However, Cutting, in press), we did not ﬁnd such for adults (Swett et al.,
the study by Xu and colleagues was unique in that it captured
2013). Instead, for adults we found that cortical regions associated
activity associated with discourse processing, not simply isolated
with a semantic control network were active for both passages
sentences, by comparing brain activity during narratives, sentences, and single words, without much involvement of executive
words, and letters. These contrasting conditions enabled the
function regions. These disparate ﬁndings suggest that executive
researchers to distinguish activation patterns between some brain
function may play a more unique role in discourse processing
regions associated with core linguistic processing (for example,
over development, perhaps supporting the integration of various
left perisylvian regions were active under all conditions) and
linguistic processes during reading development, but less heavily
increased activity that was speciﬁc to connected text, either
needed for skilled adult readers. Ongoing work is examining

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The Beacon Spring 2018

comprehension in various ways (both narrative and expository
as well as listening versus reading comprehension) across various
developmental stages in order to further disentangle the exact
nature of the contribution of domain-general regions to
comprehension and text processing patterns of activation,
including those that may be speciﬁc to readers with S-RCD.
Evidence of a Structural
Neurobiological Proﬁle for S-RCD
The studies reviewed have examined the brain activity of
readers during reading to reveal how different regions of the brain
might support different aspects of reading. Our group has also
attempted to characterize the structural neurobiological proﬁle
of S-RCD readers (Bailey, Hoeft, Aboud, & Cutting, in press).
In this study, we explored gray matter volume (the exterior part
of the cortex that consists primarily of neuron cell bodies and
dendrites) using structural MRI (which are MRI scans that
capture the brain’s morphology). Gray matter volume has often
been measured as a marker between clinical groups, such as in
whole-brain measurements in schizophrenia or hippocampus
measurements in chronic lifelong stress. In this study, we found,
as expected, and consistent with other DYS studies (Linkersdörfer et al., 2012), that the DYS group (adolescents) differed
from the TD group in the occipitotemporal and supramarginal
regions. These regions are associated with phonological and
orthographic processing. We also found that the S-RCD group
differed signiﬁcantly from the DYS group (but not the TD
group) in these regions. This ﬁnding maps onto our functional
MRI study showing differences between readers with dyslexia and
readers with speciﬁc reading comprehension difﬁculties in brain
regions important for phonological and orthographic processing.
These ﬁndings lend further support to the idea that the processing
of phonological and orthographic forms of words is largely intact
in the S-RCD group. However, as seen in our functional MRI
study, the S-RCD group differed from the TD group in other
brain regions. Importantly, we also observed reduced gray matter
volume in right frontal regions. These regions are commonly
associated with executive functions and are thought to underlie
processes such as controlling mental representations. Together
these ﬁndings lend more evidence to the idea that readers with
S-RCD might have a distinct proﬁle from TD and DYS groups;
that is, the behavioral ﬁndings found in previous work broadly
align with group differences found when we study the functional
and structural neurobiology of different reader groups.
In summary, neurobiological investigations of discourse
processing in developing readers with typical and atypical reading
abilities are just beginning. The studies described here contribute
to the growing literature, but more work is required to characterize
S-RCD and its neurobiological correlates, as well as how the
neurobiological correlates of discourse processing more generally
evolve over development.

Implications for Practice
Despite exciting and fast-evolving insights from both behavioral
and neuroimaging work, how exactly these ﬁndings may translate
to practitioners is a more complex topic, and in truth potential
implications will likely occur down the road (Mele-McCarthy,
2015). For example, reading comprehension deﬁcits are currently
diagnosed by behavioral tests of comprehension skill but this
method may be obscuring subtypes of readers that respond differentially to various interventions. Although it is not yet feasible to
approach identiﬁcation of learning disabilities via neuroimaging,
neurobiological methods help to illuminate possible subtypes,
reﬁne existing theory, and improve behavioral constructs of
reading impairment. The power of neuroimaging, with regard to
identiﬁcation of learning disabilities, is the capacity to elucidate
individual differences when behavioral proﬁles are indistinguishable
(McCardle, Cutting, & Miller, 2013). This is important from
a diagnostician’s point of view because it implies that similar
behaviors may stem from unique subtypes.
The accumulation of research ﬁndings emphasizes that
reading comprehension entails word recognition, oral language,
and domain-general skills. Our research shows that S-RCD has
a unique neurobiological proﬁle as compared to typically
developing readers and readers with dyslexia. Additionally,
our lab’s work demonstrates that this proﬁle includes domaingeneral regions thought to subserve executive processes. Teachers
as well as researchers have asked, then, whether training executive
processes explicitly could lead to better educational outcomes, in
reading as well as arithmetic or measures of executive functions
themselves. This is a current area of research; so far, researchers
have tested executive-function training programs and have
consistently found that working-memory training improves
working memory, but so far there is mixed evidence for transfer
to other cognitive domains such as reading (Melby-Lervåg &
Hulme, 2012). Others have tried to combine working-memory
training with reading instruction. For example, Peng and Fuchs
(2015) conducted a study where they speciﬁcally combined
working-memory training with reading-comprehension intervention for one group of children, and then compared this group
to another group receiving reading-comprehension intervention
only. They found no additional beneﬁts to adding workingmemory training to the intervention. To be clear, this does not
necessarily mean executive-function training does not belong in
schools but suggests that further research needs to be conducted
in order to understand the usefulness of executive-function
training and examine in what type of context(s) it may be
beneﬁcial. Generally, future neurobiological research into
S-RCD and reading comprehension will further inform our
knowledge about the neural processes that subserve comprehension,
elucidate the role and mechanisms of domain-general processes
like executive functions, and, perhaps, facilitate better understanding of how to diagnose and intervene with individuals
who have reading deﬁcits.

Peng, P., & Fuchs, D. (2015). A randomized control trial of working
memory training with and without strategy instruction: Effects on
young children’s working memory and comprehension. Journal of
Learning Disabilities, advance online publication.

Pimperton, H., & Nation, K. (2012). Poor comprehenders in the
classroom: Teacher ratings of behavior in children with poor reading
comprehension and its relationship with individual differences in
working memory. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 47(3), 199–207.

About the Authors
Neena S. Hudson, MS, is a doctoral student in the Education and Brain Sciences Research Laboratory in the
Department of Special Education at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University.
Jonathan D. Scheff, MEd, is a doctoral student in the Education and Brain Sciences Research Laboratory in the
Department of Neuroscience at Vanderbilt University.
Mary Tarsha is a master’s degree student in the Education and Brain Sciences Research Laboratory in the Department of Psychology
and Human Development at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University.
Laurie E. Cutting, PhD, is an Endowed Chair at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University. She is the Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor
of Special Education, Psychology, Radiology, and Pediatrics, and is head of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Reading Clinic. She is also
a Senior Scientist at Haskins Laboratories and is a member of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute at Vanderbilt University.

This article was originally published in Perspectives on Language and Literacy, vol. 42, No. 2, 2016 (spring), copyright
by the International Dyslexia Association, Inc. (DyslexiaIDA.org). Used with permission.

Spring 2018 The Beacon

9

THE ROBERT J. SCHWARTZ
MEMORIAL LECTURE
The
Windward
School

Windward
Teacher
Training
Institute

Educational Neuroscience:

How Cognitive
Neuroscience Can Inform
Approaches to Learning
Educational neuroscience is an emerging ﬁeld of research
that draws upon the disciplines of cognitive neuroscience,
education, and psychology, with the goal of examining
neurobiological processes as related to education. In this
lecture, the neural mechanisms of reading, mathematics,
and attention will be discussed as well as insights about
how this emerging ﬁeld can inﬂuence instructional
practice. In addition, neurobiological approaches that
may inform and reﬁne our understanding of how to
identify and treat reading difﬁculties will be discussed.

Early Identification
of Dyslexia
By Dr. John J. Russell
Head of The Windward School

A

t their ﬁrst parent-teacher conference, the parents of a
bright, enthusiastic kindergartener tell the teacher that
they are concerned about their child’s ﬁrst attempts to
read. Unlike their older children, he was late to speak; has trouble
understanding rhymes; cannot write his name; and often is
unable to name objects that are familiar to him. By this time in
their schooling, his siblings were all beginning readers while he
cannot sound out even simple three-letter words. They are told
by their child’s well-intended teacher that children learn to read
at their own rate. In addition, he is a boy and needs “the gift of
another year.” They heed the teacher’s advice, and the boy moves
on to ﬁrst grade where formal reading instruction begins. The
boy’s struggles are now even more pronounced. Once again, the
parents are reassured by his teacher that while his development
is different from the other students in his class, he just needs
more time to acquire the skills that his peers have already begun
to master. By second grade, the boy is far behind his grade level
in reading; his homework sessions are battles that regularly result
in tears on all sides; and the social and emotional elements of his
progress reports are showing increasing evidence of anxiety and
oppositional behavior. Convinced that he may be dyslexic, the
very concerned parents make a referral to the district committee
on special education to have him evaluated. They are told that he
has not received enough formal reading instruction to determine
if he is dyslexic and that they have to wait until the end of third
grade before a formal diagnosis can be made. Finally, as an
unmotivated, frustrated fourth grader who is two years behind
his peers, he is identiﬁed as dyslexic and begins to receive the
specialized instruction that he has needed since kindergarten.
Despite an overwhelming body of research indicating that early
recognition and treatment are extremely important steps in
the prevention of a reading problem in the child who is at risk
of dyslexia, variations of this story take place every year in
thousands of schools across the country. Why?

The Catch-22 of Early Diagnosis of Dyslexia
It is well established that reading problems and the multitude
of negative consequences that result from them can be reduced by
early intervention (National Reading Panel, 2000; Schatschneider
& Torgesen, 2004). To be eligible for early intervention,

children must be identiﬁed as soon as possible. For many years
and even today, dyslexia is commonly deﬁned as an unexpected
difﬁculty in learning to read. This results in many educators
arguing that they have to wait until adequate reading instruction
has been provided before making a diagnosis of dyslexia. This
“catch-22” type of logic prevents early identiﬁcation, thus denying
dyslexics the early intervention that is critical to their future
success and ensuring that they unnecessarily experience the
debilitating effects of failure in their formative years of schooling.
Recognizing the inadequacy of this early deﬁnition of
dyslexia, in 2012 the International Dyslexia Association (IDA)
crafted a new research-based deﬁnition that helped to reduce,
but did not eliminate, the “wait to fail” mentality that the previous
deﬁnition fostered. The IDA deﬁnition of dyslexia added the
neurobiological basis of dyslexia and a phonological component,
both of which can be assessed before reading instruction takes
place, thus allowing for possible identiﬁcation before dyslexics
encounter reading failure. It states:
“Dyslexia is a speciﬁc learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difﬁculties with
accurate and/or ﬂuent word recognition and by poor
spelling and decoding abilities. These difﬁculties typically
result from a deﬁcit in the phonological component
of language that is often unexpected in relation to other
cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom
instruction. Secondary consequences may include
problems in reading comprehension and reduced
reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary
and background knowledge.”

Early Warning Signs of Dyslexia
The earliest and simplest indicators for risk of dyslexia are
a family history of reading difﬁculties and problems with oral
language. With the publication in 1983 of “Categorizing Sounds
and Learning to Read—A Causal Connection,” Bradley and
Bryant set the stage for future work that would reﬁne the early
identiﬁcation of dyslexics. They found that:
“Children who are backward in reading are strikingly
insensitive to rhyme and alliteration. They are at a

Spring 2018 The Beacon

disadvantage when categorizing words on the basis of
common sounds even in comparison with younger
children who read no better than they do. Categorizing
words in this way involves attending to their constituent
sounds, and so does learning to use the alphabet in
reading and spelling. Thus the experiences which a child
has with rhyme before he goes to school might have a
considerable effect on his success later on in learning
to read and to write [emphasis added].”
A small percentage of children experience delays in expressive
language. These late talkers frequently use only a few words by
age two, and their speech often consists of monosyllabic words,
even though their development in other areas is within normal
range (Lyytinen & Lyytinen, 2004; Preston
et al., 2010). Preston also reports that late
talkers were almost four times as likely to be
diagnosed with reading difﬁculties as were
children who were not late talkers.
The link between family history and
language delays is clear in a meta-analysis
of 95 publications by Snowling & MelbyLervag (2016). They found that children of
at-risk families experience language delays
as infants and toddlers and that these delays
manifest themselves as phonological lags in
preschool. Similarly at school age, family risk
of dyslexia is associated with signiﬁcantly
poor phonological awareness and literacy
skills (Lyytinen, Eklund, & Lyytinen, 2005).
While it does not yield a diagnosis of
dyslexia by itself, it has been established that
between 40% to 60% of children with a parent or sibling with
reading difﬁculties will have reading problems themselves
(Scarborough, 1990; Snowling, Gallagher, & Frith, 2003;
Scerri & Schulte-Körne, 2010). More recent studies (Paracchini,
Diaz, & Stein, 2016; Truong et al., 2017) provide additional
evidence of the role genetics play in reading difﬁculties.
Bradley and Bryant’s ﬁndings were the foundation for the
validating research that followed, conﬁrming that phonological
awareness, rapid naming, and verbal working memory are the
strongest predictors of literacy acquisition, and these abilities can
be assessed when children start school in kindergarten. (Fletcher
et al., 2002; Fuchs et al., 2012). Further conﬁrming the predictive
value of these measures, difﬁculties in these areas have also been
established as the primary causes of dyslexia (Ramus, 2003;
Vellutino et al., 2004; Snowling & Hulme, 2012). These behavioral
studies have been bolstered by recent research employing promising
new tools that are able as early as infancy to identify differences
in brain structures and neural activity in dyslexics.

are dyslexic show differences in response to language sounds
within days of birth. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI),
the Boston Longitudinal Dyslexia Study (2011), conducted
by Nadine Gaab and her team at Children’s Hospital Boston,
established that children ﬁve years old and younger with a family
history of dyslexia displayed decreased neural activity during
phonological processing tests while preschoolers with no family
history of dyslexia did not. The Gaab Lab and the Gabrieli Lab at
MIT joined together to conduct a comprehensive study, Research
on the Early Attributes of Dyslexia (2014), that examined more
than 1,500 kindergarteners for early signs of dyslexia. Using
behavioral and language assessments and MRI scans, they found
that differences in brain structure correlated with pre-reading
skills. It is important to note that these
differences were present as reading instruction
was being started. Neuroimaging studies such
as these are extremely important for several
reasons. They unequivocally establish that a
diagnosis of dyslexia, while behavioral in
nature, is consistent with physiological and
structural differences found in the brains
of dyslexics but not found in non-dyslexics.
This research also demonstrates that these
differences in neurological function can be
found as early as infancy.
While these and other studies have
demonstrated the potential predictive
power of neuroimaging, the reality is that
it is unrealistic to think that schools will be
able to perform this type of sophisticated
and expensive testing. Fortunately, low cost
and valid assessments of phonological awareness, rapid naming,
and verbal working memory are reliable predictors of literacy
acquisition. Early identiﬁcation of dyslexia can begin in preschool
with a family history and a test of phonological awareness, and
then followed by more formal examinations of rapid naming and
working memory upon entrance to school. The research basis for
early identiﬁcation is clearly established; the tools for screening
are readily available; and yet school districts have been notoriously
slow in adopting measures to identify and then remediate
dyslexic students. Frustrated by this lack of response in the face
of overwhelming evidence, parents of and advocates for dyslexics
have sought legislative relief.

It is well established
that reading problems
and the multitude of
negative consequences
that result from them
can be reduced by
early intervention.

Progress on the Research Front
In 2009, John Gabrieli and his colleagues used electroencephalograms to demonstrate that newborns with parents who

Progress on the Legislative Front,
But a Long Way to Go
As of 2015, 28 states had statewide dyslexia laws, 6 states had
initiatives or resolutions related to dyslexia, and 14 states had
handbooks or resource guides to inform parents and educators
about procedures for identifying and educating students in public
and private schools (Youman & Mather, 2016). For dyslexics,
parents of dyslexics and those who teach dyslexics, passage of
these laws is cause for optimism, but “tempered optimism” might

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The Beacon Spring 2018

Head Lines

be more appropriate in this context because it is often a long,
tortuous journey from writing policy to effective implementation.
Insight into the challenges of moving from a law to delivering
the type of school experience that lawmakers intended is readily
apparent in the name of the dyslexia bill that passed the Tennessee
House in 2014. It was titled “Dyslexia is Real” indicating that
the audience for this bill, including educators, needed to be
convinced of the very existence of dyslexia. If you do not believe
in the existence of something, how effective
will you be in screening for it? Earlier this
year, the U.S. Department of Education
found that some school districts in Texas
took actions speciﬁcally designed to decrease
the percentage of students identiﬁed for
special education” and that the Texas
Education Agency did not comply with
federal laws to identify and provide services
to students with disabilities. The ﬁndings
came after Texas reported a substantial decrease
in its number of children with disabilities
over more than a decade (The New York
Times, January 11, 2018).
Windward parents in New York, New
Jersey, and Connecticut have experienced

what is perhaps an even more insidious version of this resistance
to identify and provide services to students eligible for special
education. Educators who ascribe to the earlier, inadequate
deﬁnition of dyslexia still tell parents that dyslexia cannot
be diagnosed until children have failed to learn to read after
receiving what they deem to be “adequate” reading instruction.
This usually means that students have to struggle through
second or even third grade before they are identiﬁed. Decades
of research substantiates that this is
simply not true.
There is absolutely no reason to put
off early identiﬁcation and subsequent
research-based intervention. “Free
Appropriate Public Education” (FAPE)
is an educational right of children with
disabilities that is guaranteed by the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and by the
Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA). Failure to provide early
identiﬁcation of students with dyslexia
is to deny them their rights under IDEA.
It is not just unethical; it is illegal; and it
must stop.

There is absolutely

no reason to put off
early identiﬁcation
and subsequent
research-based
intervention.

Spring 2018 The Beacon

Research Roundup

Reflecting on Progress and Looking to the
Future of Research and Classroom Practice
By Danielle Scorrano, The Windward School Research Associate

A

s the research associate at The Windward School, I have
the opportunity to connect with researchers, scientiﬁc
institutions, and other schools across the country. This
past fall, I learned from key researchers in the ﬁeld of dyslexia,
spoke to school teachers, and listened to presentations from parent
groups and organizations. These experiences presented unique
opportunities for me to share insights about the expanding ﬁelds
of dyslexia and reading research with the Windward community.
Furthermore, these connections ensure that Windward’s researchbased instructional program remains both cutting edge and ﬁrmly
grounded in the most rigorous, scientiﬁcally valid research available.

Evidence of Scientiﬁc Progress and Collaboration

of Tufts University and the Gaab Lab explained that atypical
connectivity between neurons or “white matter” could be identiﬁed
as early as infancy in children with a family history of dyslexia
(Ozernov-Palchik, 2017; Ozernov-Palchik & Gaab, 2016).
Given the highly hereditary nature of dyslexia, the family
histories of potentially at-risk children offer important information
for early diagnosis, but this is not the only path for early diagnosis.
Research demonstrates that screening should be available to all
children in order to identify at-risk readers. Behavioral assessments
can measure potential deﬁcits of at-risk pre-readers by assessing
phonological awareness, letter-sound knowledge, rapid automatic
naming, and working memory (Gaab, 2017; Ozernov-Palchik &

In October, Betsy Duffy, Director of Language Arts and
Instruction, Alexis Pochna, Division Head of the Westchester
Lower School, and I visited Georgetown University’s Center
for the Study of Learning. Dr. Guinevere Eden, Director of the
Georgetown Lab, delivered the Spring 2017 Schwartz Lecture
at The Windward School. Later in November, Dr. John Russell,
Head of School, Jon Rosenshine, Associate Head of School,
Jill Fedele, Coordinator of Middle School Language Arts, and
I attended the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) annual
conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Additionally, I participated in
The New England Research on Dyslexia Society’s (NERDY)
meeting of researchers and institutions at the University of
Connecticut. I learned about many important areas of research
including:
Early Dyslexia Screening and Identiﬁcation
Dyslexia, a neurobiological and lifelong disability, affects
5–17% of children (Shaywitz & Shaywitz, 2003). New advances
in brain imaging technology combined with behavioral measures
have enabled researchers to better understand the reading brain
and the early markers of dyslexia. Studies have shown that certain
brain characteristics of dyslexia can be identiﬁed as early as
infancy (Ozernov-Palchik, 2017). This research highlights the
importance of screening and identifying dyslexia at early ages,
so at-risk children can receive the targeted interventions they
need to learn how to read.
In too many cases, the identiﬁcation of dyslexia in a child
is based on a model of “failure”—a diagnosis typically following
a child’s failure to learn how to read in second grade or later
(Ozernov-Palchik & Gaab, 2016). Dr. Nadine Gaab, the Principal
Investigator at the Gaab Lab and a founding member of NERDY,
emphasizes that early markers of dyslexia can appear as early as
preschool. During her NERDY presentation, Ola Ozernov-Palchik

Gaab, 2016). The expansion of brain imaging technology also
allows researchers to deeply explore the neural correlates of
dyslexia, resulting in more precise methods of identiﬁcation.
With this research, the “wait to fail” model cannot reasonably
continue in our schools.
Although research clearly demonstrates the importance and
the potential for early screening and identiﬁcation, applying this
research in practice is problematic, as many children throughout
the United States each year remain undiagnosed. Consequently,
they do not receive the support and remediation they need.
Certain barriers may inhibit this research from universal practice.
For example, the National Center for Learning Disabilities cites
that disparities in special education identiﬁcation exist particularly
in low socio-economic communities and across populations of

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The Beacon Spring 2018

Research Roundup

different racial and ethnic groups (Horowitz, Rawe, & Whittaker,
2017). Hopefully, further collaboration between the scientiﬁc
and education communities, as well as measures at the school
and policy level will expand screening procedures to beneﬁt all
at-risk readers.
Effective Targeted Intervention
for Students with Dyslexia
Although screening students at earlier ages for reading difﬁculties is a critical development for the education community,
early diagnosis must be followed by effective intervention for
at-risk readers. When at-risk children do not receive the
remediation they need to read, they are at risk of failing to read
as well as experiencing associated negative social-emotional
consequences (Ozernov-Palchik & Gaab, 2016). Due to the
neuroplasticity of the brain, studies show that the structure
of the reading brain can change in children and adults with
dyslexia when they receive the right, effective intervention.
In his presentation at NERDY, Dr. John D. Gabrieli
emphasized that only effective interventions would change brain
anatomy. Furthermore, research shows that all children beneﬁt
from high-quality reading instruction, particularly at early ages
(Gaab, 2017). What constitutes high-quality reading instruction
and more speciﬁcally, effective remediation for children with
dyslexia? According to the National Reading Panel (2000),
systematic reading instruction should incorporate phonemic
awareness, phonics, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and
explicit writing instruction. At-risk readers also beneﬁt from
diagnostic and targeted instruction that occur at a higher dosage
in small-group settings.
During the IDA conference, NERDY, and Windward’s
professional visit to the Center for the Study of Learning,
researchers explained the positive effects of high-quality
intervention. In Dr. Eden’s studies, she has compared behavioral
measures and brain scans of adults and children with dyslexia
before and after an intensive intervention program targeted for
reading and math difﬁculties. The brain images have shown an
increase in gray matter volume, or new brain tissue, in the brains
of children with dyslexia, particularly in the areas around the
hippocampus. Furthermore, Maureen Lovett, Senior Scientist at
The Hospital for Sick Children at the University of Toronto, has
demonstrated the effectiveness of interventions for older students.
Although science has deepened our understanding of
how quality interventions change the brain, progress still needs to
be made in the application of remediation for the vast majority of
students in the United States and across the world. Practitioners
can learn from research principles about identifying and
remediating dyslexia:
Consider

the hereditary, genetic nature of dyslexia.
Children with family history of dyslexia have as much
as a 40–60% likelihood of being diagnosed with
dyslexia (Ozernov-Palchik & Gaab, 2016).

Ensure

early language and reading development at
young ages. Environmental factors are integral for
early language and reading development, particularly
in home settings. In her presentation at the IDA
conference, Dr. Maureen Lovett cited research that
shows language development is a crucial foundation for
later academic achievement. In addition, studies show
that economic disadvantages negatively affect exposure
to reading and vocabulary development. Early exposure
to language and vocabulary can help children develop
foundational skills for reading.

Screen

and diagnose dyslexia early.

Train

teachers to provide quality instruction for
students with language-based learning disabilities
such as dyslexia.

Numerous studies, including the National Reading Panel
(2000), emphasize that a teacher’s knowledge of language is
crucial for a child’s reading success.

Danielle Scorrano, Alexis Pochna, Dr. Guinevere Eden, and Betsy Duffy
at Georgetown University in Washington, DC in October 2017.

Deeper Exploration of Research Questions
At NERDY and in Dr. Eden’s lab, I learned more about
numerous expanded areas of brain imaging and behavioral research
that have beneﬁted from increased collaboration throughout the
scientiﬁc community. At Dr. Eden’s Center for the Study of
Learning, we discussed the relatedness between math and reading
disabilities. Dr. Anna Matejko, a post-doctoral research fellow
in the lab, cited that between 30–70% of students with reading
disabilities also have a math disability, and Dr. Eden’s Center has
investigated the underlying brain correlates that would provide
evidence for this potential comorbidity. Through brain imaging
technology, Dr. Eden has identiﬁed certain shared areas of brain
activity for reading and arithmetic tasks in children with dyslexia,
perhaps due to neuronal recycling. Future investigations into the

Spring 2018 The Beacon

comorbidities of math and reading disabilities will further
provide insights in the brains of people with dyslexia.

A Call for Continued Action
In addition to the knowledge I gained at IDA, NERDY, and
the Center for the Study of Learning, I was most struck by the
collaboration across the research community. Despite investigating
speciﬁc nuances in the causes of dyslexia and its interventions,
this community demonstrates continuous collaboration between
their labs and research centers. I also learned about the exciting
partnerships between scientiﬁc institutions and schools—the
kinds of partnerships that Windward is dedicated to developing
through its strategic planning.
Looking ahead, parents, educators, scientists, and policy
makers need to ensure that every child with dyslexia receives
the support and services needed to thrive both academically and
personally. In order for more progress to occur, there must be
a greater commitment to providing support for early language
and reading development, especially targeting the needs of
at-risk children. Furthermore, there will need to be even more
collaboration between scientiﬁc institutions, universities, teacher
preparation and development programs, parent groups, policy
makers, and, especially, schools.

Building on Successes as a “Beacon” for the Future
Learning from the scientiﬁc and education community
offers new opportunities to highlight the pioneering work of The
Windward School. As Maureen Lovett cited in her presentation
at IDA, implementing lasting change in schools requires a
“village.” There needs to be a school culture built on sound
infrastructure that bridges research with quality professional
development and consistent classroom implementation. Every
aspect of Windward’s methodology is grounded in research and
is deliberately implemented in all areas of the School’s mission.
Windward Teacher Training Institute (WTTI) provides courses,

workshops, and lectures to make research applicable in classroom
practice in many school settings. Last year, WTTI offered over
20,000 hours of professional development to Windward faculty
and staff and beyond, reaching communities in 17 states in the
United States. In recent years, educators from Canada, India,
Spain, and Argentina have learned from various classes offered
by the WTTI. The Windward Teacher Training Program also
ensures consistency of program implementation within the
school through Friday staff development sessions, curriculum
meetings, new teacher workshops, after school and weekend
courses, lectures, and the Summer Intensive Practicum (SIP).
For example, the teacher training program delivered over 11,000
hours of professional development to Windward faculty last year,
equating to over 330 hours of training for assistant teachers to
the most seasoned faculty members. Within each content area,
all teachers continue to develop through an instructional
coaching model that integrates feedback, observations, and
opportunities for professional growth. One example of lesson
planning that is continuously reinforced for Windward teachers
across all content areas is the deliberate planning of language
and questioning as explained in “Questions: An Important
Aspect of Student Learning” on page 16. The results of a
Windward education are proven in the evidence of student
progress in the classroom, performance on standardized
assessments, and in the continued success of alumni ambassadors.
As Dr. Russell recently outlined in the strategic mission of
The Windward School and Windward Teacher Training Institute,
it truly does take a village to educate children. With the increased
commitment to research and partnerships between scientiﬁc
institutions and school communities like Windward, the scope
of outreach of informed research practices will continue to grow.
As the future unfolds, Windward’s methodology will serve as a
“beacon” of the future where all children thrive both academically
and personally.

Sources
Gaab, N. (2017). It’s a myth that young children cannot
be screened for dyslexia. The Examiner, 6(5). Retrieved
from: https://dyslexiaida.org/examiner.
Gabrieli, J. (2017). Dyslexia: from neurophysiology to intervention.
Presentation at the Third Meeting of the New England Research on
Dyslexia Society (NERDY), Storrs, CT.
Horowitz, S. H., Rawe, J., & Whittaker, M. C. (2017). The State
of Learning Disabilities: Understanding the 1 in 5. New York:
National Center for Learning Disabilities.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development, NIH, DHHS. (2000). Report of the National Reading
Panel: Teaching children to read: Reports of the subgroups (00-4754).
Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Ofﬁce.

“If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution,
I would spend the ﬁrst 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once
I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than ﬁve minutes.”
———— Albert Einstein ————

C

arefully crafting questions for instruction to optimize
learning has a long history dating back to Socrates.
Questioning has remained such an important strategy
in teaching that cognitive scientists and educational researchers
have extensively studied teachers’ questioning behaviors in
schools for more than 40 years. Typical classroom teachers ask
between 200 to 400 questions per day, and about 80 percent of
these questions fall into the simple recall of facts or procedural
category (Redﬁeld & Rousseau, 1981; Brudaldi, 1998; Wilen,
Instructional language
requires a thoughtful and
deliberate design. Although
Windward teachers do not
script all their verbal output,
they pre-plan essential
questions to be asked
before, during, and
after instruction.

15% of the sample taken did not include any complex questions
at all (Hardman, Smith, & Wall, 2003).
John Hattie, author of Visible Learning for Teachers; Maximizing
Impact on Learning (2012), recommends that teachers spend
appropriate time planning the balance of surface, deep, and
conceptual learning exchanges and questions in order to enhance
academic outcomes. Windward teachers receive extensive staff
development and coaching not only in the factual knowledge
necessary to understand lesson concepts but also in recognizing
4-SQUARE MODEL EXAMPLE
Simple Questions
Choice and Product Questions
What

is a canopic jar?

How

long did it take to mummify a body?

Who

prepared the body for mummiﬁcation?

Complex Questions
Process and Meta-Process Questions
Why

do you think the process
of mummiﬁcation was important
to ancient Egyptians?

How

do you know the process
of mummiﬁcation was difﬁcult?

2001). A later study used devices no bigger than a handheld
calculator to monitor and record classroom interactions to study
teacher questioning. Accompanying software provided detailed
analysis using real-time data. Even using a high technology
research design, the study’s ﬁndings were similar to those of the
previous studies. Most of the questions asked were of a low
cognitive level, designed to funnel pupils' responses towards a
predetermined answer while more complex, open-ended questions
made up only 10% of the questioning exchanges. Interestingly,

how deeper ideas in a text relate to each other. Teachers speciﬁcally
learn how to craft the questions necessary to elicit varied levels
of student responses, prompting true knowledge building and
analytical thinking.
Eventually, through teacher modeling, students acquire the
ability to apply these inquiry methods to their own learning. In
this article, we discuss how teachers plan, execute, and scaffold
questions, and we share the evidence-based research on which
our instructional practices are grounded.

Spring 2018 The Beacon

Planning Questions
Instructional language requires a thoughtful and deliberate
design. Although Windward teachers do not script all their verbal
output, they pre-plan essential questions to be asked before,
during, and after instruction. These questions align with the
complexity of the text, the make-up of the class, and the level of
reasoning required. For example, when planning to use chapter
books and ﬁctional stories, teachers note places in the text that
correspond to the major story elements, and they highlight points
in the narrative where they anticipate possible breakdowns in
student comprehension. Teachers then determine natural breaks
in the reading to ask guiding questions about the story element
being identiﬁed. They classify their questions and comments using
the 4-square model (see below), a concept originally developed
by Marion Blank (1994) to engage students in varied levels of
critical thinking. Similarly, when planning a lesson for an
expository text, teachers pre-plan questions and comments
according to the text structure using the same 4-square model.
The responses elicited from students are dependent on the
types of questions asked. Questions can be divided into two
categories: simple and complex. Simple questions (who, what,
when, where, how many), or lower cognitive questions, are
questions that typically elicit single-word responses or short
phrases and focus on labels, recall of facts, and characteristics.
Such questions should be planned to test students’ understanding

17

The comment side of the 4-square must also be considered
when planning a lesson. In addition to asking questions, teachers
produce statements that support student learning. Like questions,
comments can be described as simple or complex. However, while
questions are determined by their level of abstraction, comments
are categorized by their syntactic complexity. Comments provide
opportunities to expose students to a sophisticated, literate style
of language and are used to reiterate and restate main ideas, model
critical thinking, and elaborate content. An essential part of the
teacher planning process is conducting background research
and reading extensively about the topic. Teachers can then
enhance their planned comments to build and supplement
student background knowledge to aid in overall comprehension.
Preparing questions and comments in advance ensures that
a teacher asks different types of questions and uses a rich variety
of sentence structures in their oral language. As a general practice,
teachers can utilize the 4-square model to observe the ratio of
simple to complex questions and comments. If too many questions
or comments are planned in one square, instructional language
will not be rich or varied enough. Planning a balance and variety
of instructional language broadens the range of thinking from
fact-based exchanges to higher levels of analysis, synthesis, and
evaluation.
Teachers at Windward strive to improve their technique for
asking effective questions during lessons. While teacher questions

Simple Comments
Simple, Active Declarative Sentences
Organs

were stored in a special canopic jar.

The

embalmers wrapped the body in
layers of linen bandages.

Complex Comments
Sentences with Conjunctions and Clauses
There

were partial scenes painted or carved
on tomb walls, cofﬁns, and canopic jars,
but no complete description was recorded.

Herodotus,

the Greek historian, described
how the Egyptians preserved their dead.

and retention of information and facts. Complex questions,
on the other hand, refer to a process involving the manipulation
of information and are most often represented by “how” and
“why” questions. These open-ended questions are designed to
tap higher-level thinking and require explaining, predicting,
comparing/contrasting, analyzing, and justifying. In addition,
complex questions encourage rich, expansive, and elaborated
student responses.

Windward teachers receive extensive staff development and coaching not
only in the factual knowledge necessary to understand lesson concepts but
also in recognizing how deeper ideas in a text relate to each other.

and comments are planned in advance, it is important to note
that it is not the quantity but the qualitative use of questions
that facilitates learning. Beyond questioning strategies, teacher
training at The Windward School includes effective teaching
strategies for whole class engagement, vocabulary instruction, text
structure with the use of graphic organizers, and the foundation
of writing—all of which results in a multi-strategy approach to
teaching and learning.

18

The Beacon Spring 2018

Classroom Delivery
Windward teachers use evidence-based strategies to facilitate
classroom discourse that maximizes student participation and
enriches discussion. Thus, additional professional development is
also devoted to strategies for incorporating wait time, feedback,
and effective dialogic techniques into lessons.
Questions that have been planned with such care and purpose
deserve to be processed by the entire class before a student is
called upon. Deﬁned as the amount of time between asking a
question and calling on a student to respond, wait time is a
classically underused tool in classrooms. Researchers suggest that
wait time ought to be at least three to ﬁve seconds, and they have
proven that sufﬁcient wait time is essential for maximizing the
effectiveness of classroom discourse (Rowe, 1986). Speciﬁcally,
increased wait time results in more active student engagement,
higher levels of participation, greater success in answering,
lengthier and more complex responses, improved retention of
material, and a deeper discussion of the content. Additionally,
longer wait time is related to an increase in the number of
clarifying questions asked by students (Rowe, 1986).
After posing a question to the class, providing wait time, and
calling on a student to respond, the teacher pays careful attention
to the response and provides feedback that is clear, instructional,
and speciﬁc. If a student is initially unable to answer a question
or answers incorrectly, the teacher scaffolds her questions until
the student is able to provide a correct answer. For example,
during a reading activity, the student
may be encouraged to look back
in a speciﬁc paragraph to locate
information that will help answer the
When questions
question. Or the teacher may provide
were interspersed
verbal support by posing follow-up
questions to guide the student to
within text
correct, reﬁne, add to, or justify the
readings, students
original response. Remaining with the
student (rather than having a different
demonstrated
child answer) and talking the student
better retention
through the process of ﬁnding the
correct answer is essential for facilitatof content
ing understanding and ensuring that
material and recall
the student experiences an appropriate
measure of competence. Extending
of speciﬁc facts.
the student’s turn helps that student
internalize and generalize the process
or strategy to successfully engage in
future academic discussions.
Feedback is used to validate and reinforce correct responses.
Windward teachers provide positive feedback that is speciﬁc
and goal-oriented. Examples of such targeted feedback include,
“Did everyone notice that Jared checked back in the text for his
answer?” or “By providing two examples, you made your argument
sound more convincing.” Such speciﬁc guidance informs the
responding student, as well as the rest of the class, not only that
the student’s response has been positively evaluated but also,

more importantly, what type of replicable learning behavior
could result from that response.
Although teachers question students, it is important to note
that the desired format of classroom discourse is not an examination
but rather an interactive, continuous, and animated discussion.
In addition to assessing, correcting and reinforcing student
understanding, questioning techniques are used to create an
environment in which children share their views, listen to each
other’s reasoning, and examine and revise their own thinking.
Thus, delivery of a carefully-planned and targeted set of
questions should be seen not as the ultimate goal but rather the
starting point for engaging the students in a lively and focused
discussion. In order to facilitate a reciprocal and continuous
exchange of ideas, teachers acknowledge and elaborate upon
student contributions. Student responses may also be incorporated
into a subsequent question for the class to consider (e.g., “Sarah
just described Ellen as feeling hopeful. How have Ellen’s feelings
changed since the beginning of the chapter?” or “The four planets
closest to the sun are rocky. Why are Mercury, Venus, Earth,
and Mars more dense and rocky than the other planets?”). For
questions with more than one answer or with room for multiple
interpretations, teachers should seek responses from several
students. Follow-up questions can also serve to extend discussion
points. In addition, students may be asked to agree or disagree
with or elaborate on each other’s contributions. By using the
techniques described above, Windward teachers carefully
facilitate classroom discourse without dominating it.
Although teachers question students, it is important
to note that the desired format of classroom
discourse is not an examination but rather an
interactive, continuous, and animated discussion.

Theoretical Underpinnings
Windward teachers’ abilities to structure academic conversations
are based on an extensive body of research. The outcomes of
varied research designs (e.g., experimental and descriptive studies
as well as meta-analyses) have contributed to a theoretical framework for the role, design, and use of questions. Researchers and
theorists have gathered, analyzed, and interpreted data about
the patterns of question-answer exchanges in the classroom.

Spring 2018 The Beacon

Replicated ﬁndings point to the types of teacher behavior and
language that promote academic language and increased student
engagement.
The proven effects of question-asking were ﬁrst noted by
educational psychologists in the 1960s. When questions were
interspersed within text readings, students demonstrated better
retention of content material and recall of speciﬁc facts. In later
decades, researchers and theorists explored learning in classrooms
through video-observation methods. Transcripts were then analyzed
for speciﬁc features including teacher questions, wait time,
feedback, explanations, and student response patterns. Using
quantitative and qualitative techniques, researchers could
identify the impact of varied question types on student thinking
and expression.
Among the comprehensive classroom communication
strategies to beneﬁt learning was the notion of “dialogic teaching.”
Dialogic interactions were characterized by teachers’ efforts to
engage students in extended discussion with questioning as the
critical element to facilitate higher-order thinking and reasoning.
A large-scale American study led by Martin Nystrand (1997;
2003) was pivotal in establishing strong empirical support for
the role of open-ended discussion in literature instruction and
its effects on student achievement.
According to Nystrand (1997), productive classroom discourse
exhibits a high degree of reciprocity in interaction and is marked
by open-ended questions that create contexts for students to
generate extended responses which, in turn, reﬂect reasoning

processes that are typically regarded as indicative of high-level
thinking. In this landmark study of literature discussions in
42 eighth- and ninth-grade classrooms, authentic questions
generated the kind of reciprocity that enabled students to
take on roles as ‘‘fully ﬂedged conversants.” Nystrand termed
instructional contexts in which students and teachers engage
in authentic conversations and where knowledge is interactively
co-constructed as ‘‘dialogic events’’ (Nystrand, 2003).
Subsequent systematic reviews of research that focused on
instructional conversations between teacher and student continued
to support the efﬁcacy of dialogic interactions as a pedagogical
strategy. One noteworthy review of research on the effects of
classroom discussion is the three-year study and meta-analyses
published in the International Journal of Educational Research,
funded by the United States Department of Education. After an
exhaustive literature search and research study comparing nine
classroom discussion approaches with recognized track records
and published results, the authors identiﬁed and conﬁrmed the
features of classroom discourse that had the greatest impact on
student learning: extended student talk, discussion of texts through
open-ended questions, and a high degree of teacher uptake (i.e.,
follow-up questions and comments) (Soter, 2008).
Taken from this broad research base, the instructional discourse
strategies implemented by Windward teachers ensure that all
students participate in discussions that promote high-level
thinking, comprehension, and student expression.

About the Authors
Nicole Berkowitz, CCC-SLP, is a Speech Language Pathologist and Language Arts Coordinator at The Windward School.
Betsy Duffy, MSEd, is the Director of Language Arts and Instruction at The Windward School.
Diane Happas, CCC-SLP, is the Coordinator of Language at The Windward School.
Katie Price, CCC-SLP, is a Speech Language Pathologist and Language Arts Coordinator at The Windward School.

This page has been left intentionally blank. The print version of the Spring
2018 issue of The Beacon included a print-only, licensed article, "Laptops
Are Great. But Not During a Lecture or a Meeting," by Susan Dynarski
from The New York Times. If you would like a print copy of The Beacon,
please email hpray@thewindwardschool.org.

This page has been left intentionally blank. The print version of the Spring
2018 issue of The Beacon included a print-only, licensed article, "Laptops Are
Great. But Not During a Lecture or a Meeting," by Susan Dynarski from The New
York Times. If you would like a print copy of The Beacon, please email
hpray@thewindwardschool.org.

hroughout elementary
school, Callie Toal ’18
knew she was different.
When her classmates were
reading, she would pretend
to read. Instead of raising her
hand to answer a question,
she would remain silent.
If homework needed to be
turned in, she would say she
lost it. All of that changed
when she came to Windward.
As Callie heads off to college
next fall, she knows she will
go with a ﬁrm foundation
and the right tools to succeed.
From pre-K to fourth
grade, Callie attended a
school where her ADHD
created constant obstacles to
her success. “She was never
able to focus on one task, and
she would jump from one
thing to the next, even when
telling stories,” her mother,
Julie Leeds, recalls. Looking
back, Callie remembers the
impact that her early years
of education had on her
conﬁdence: “I thought I was
stupid or the other kids were
smarter.”
While her classmates were learning, a teacher suggested that
Callie rub quarters together during class because “she thought it
would help me focus and sit still.” Rather than contributing to
class, the typically social and outgoing Callie became too nervous
to participate. The atmosphere became so toxic that teachers
threatened to stop teaching her because she wasn’t like the other
students. Her self-esteem plummeted. “I had my name picked
out to read a story, and as I struggled, I could see my teacher
smirking and hear my classmates laughing,” she remembers.
While her parents knew Callie had ADHD from the young
age of three, her diagnosis of dyslexia was not made until second
grade; and despite having a specialized tutor in third grade, Callie
did not fully understand the meaning of her dyslexia diagnosis.

Callie’s parents had heard about
Windward from good friends
and decided that ﬁfth grade
would be a good time to
transition Callie to a new
school. Prior to beginning at
Windward, Callie visited the
school as part of the admissions
process. “I remember visiting
a language arts classroom, and
they were ‘scooping words.’
Witnessing that process made
reading seem so much easier.
I knew then that this was going
to be the right school for me,”
she adds.
Callie’s ﬁrst day of school
at Windward was the end of
teachers not understanding her
needs and peers laughing at
her because she was different
from them. There would be
no more name-calling of “lazy,”
“daydreamer,” “passive,” or
“stupid.” She recalls, “When
I arrived at Windward, I
remember getting ready to read
in class, and it occurred to me
that everyone was the same as
me. When I was called to read
in class, no one laughed. The
teachers wanted to stay and help me. I felt comfortable asking a
question without someone thinking I was stupid.”
That pivotal ﬁrst day brought another momentous occasion
for Callie and her family: a painless evening of doing homework.
“When I came home from my ﬁrst day of school, my parents
asked me if I needed help. Homework was always a nightmare,
but that evening I completed my homework all by myself. I
didn’t need their help. The evening wasn’t a complete mess like
it had been many nights before,” she remembers.
Callie’s progress in learning strategies to succeed continued
at Windward through eighth grade. Throughout her childhood,
Callie had always participated in sports. “I played everything, and
I’ve always been extremely competitive,” she remarks. While she
participated in Windward’s soccer program in ﬁfth grade, Callie
Callie Toal ’18 will be
attending Kenyon College
to play soccer in Fall 2018.

Callie with her family

understand them at all.” She continues,
would move on to club sports for the rest of
“Playing sports, especially “I also hated public speaking, but thanks
her adolescence. The juggling of sports and
academics helped instill discipline in Callie.
soccer, really helped teach to Windward and having to present in study
skills class, I became used to public speaking.
“Playing sports, especially soccer, really helped
me to work hard and
I learned to be calm, stop ﬁdgeting, and stay
teach me to work hard and have the discipline
to get my work done. I couldn’t play sports if
have the discipline to get on point.” Callie would end up taking ﬁrst
place at that speech competition.
I wasn’t doing well in school—and that was
my work done. I couldn’t
Callie’s discipline, time management,
not an option for me,” she shares.
and resilience have remained with her at Blair
With discipline ﬁrmly in her skill set,
play sports if I wasn’t
she would soon add time management and
Academy. “Callie will never back away from a
doing well in school—
organization. “Windward really helped me
challenge,” her mother points out. “If Callie is
manage my time and kept me organized.
told that a class is too challenging or that she
and that was not an
Before Windward, I shoved all my papers
does not have to take the class due to her IEP,
option for me.”
into my backpack. I wasn’t sure what was
she will take the class and succeed. Callie was
homework or not. At Windward, they gave
also exempt from taking a foreign language.
us binders to organize our papers. It really helped me keep things Most kids would be thrilled with that idea—but not Callie.
in order,” she reminisces. Discipline, time management, and
She ended up taking one for three years!”
organization were all essential to making the most out of the
The next challenge for Callie will be attending Kenyon College
eighth-grade study skills class: how to write a research paper.
and playing college-level soccer in the fall. With a foundation for
success ﬁrmly secure, Callie is extremely grateful that Windward
“If I had left Windward without being able to write a research
taught her to be her best advocate and never to be ashamed
paper well, I wouldn’t have survived,” she asserts
After Windward, Callie enrolled in Blair Academy, a boarding of her disabilities. Instead, she sees her disabilities as gifts and
opportunities to offer a different perspective of the world. “I
school in New Jersey, where she is currently ﬁnishing her senior
year. No longer afraid to raise her hand in class, Callie participated hope people like me look at their differences and disabilities and
embrace them. Maybe they will turn out to be the key gifts that
in a sophomore speech competition in which she shared with
lead you to do things no one else thought you could. I have
her audience what it is like to be in the mind of someone with
ADHD and dyslexia, and I’m proud of it. It makes me who
ADHD and dyslexia. “Windward really helped me understand
I am, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
my learning disabilities because before I attended, I didn’t